


Simmering Down

by Hertz



Series: Murder Space Gays [2]
Category: Among Us (Video Game)
Genre: Alien Cultural Differences, Alien/Human Relationships, Fluff, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:08:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 11,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27093313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hertz/pseuds/Hertz
Summary: It's just Purple's luck to be stuck all week on board the empty Skeld, with one incredibly annoying sort-of mate.
Relationships: Cyan/Purple (Among Us), Impostor/Impostor (Among Us)
Series: Murder Space Gays [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1969033
Comments: 98
Kudos: 304





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> These will have like 0 plot and mainly focus on what the pair are doing after the events of Friendly Fire.

When Purple had been assigned to this mission, they had been informed there was another impostor trying to pick the crew apart. Still a little directionless from the loss of their partner Tan, they had reasoned with themself that this was a good thing. They could watch out for each other and potentially pull off enough double kills before the crew ever knew what was coming.

There had been something about Cyan that just screamed _idiot_ , though. The first time they had met Cyan's stupid human gestures were so overexaggerated and dramatic, voice just a little too loud, that they were most likely going to be a liability if Purple hadn't set them straight.

Unfortunately, Purple had wound up falling for that very same idiot. Because, well, Cyan was horrible but also not that bad, really.

And it was cold on board the Skeld without them.

Purple grit their teeth and huddled up further in the thin cotton blanket they had been supplied with. They had changed to half human form to both increase their body temperature and also not fall off the bed. The brush of the fabric against their horns were ticklish, though, and this was not helping by very much. Night after night this shit happened, and Purple could _not_ wait until they returned home.

Did this damn spaceship even have a heater? Purple probably had no idea how to operate it, but it was worth a try when they were at their wit's end.

Purple creaked their door open, stepping outside and into the hallway. At least they didn't have to worry about being seen in this form anymore. Looking up and down the entire hallway, Purple spotted a device in the corner. Walking over to it, Purple read the display - 25 degrees celsius if they were remembering human terms right. Well, that wasn't ideal, they needed at least 35 to be not freezing to death if they were remembering their scale conversions correctly.

Purple fiddled with the arrows on the device for a while longer. Well, it was at 35 now, right? How long would they have to wait before it got warmer? Purple frowned and stared up at the ceiling. Was this thing even working?

Purple got their answer when Cyan kicked the door of their own bunk open. Their hair was a mess and their eyes had dark circles under them. "Purple, what the fuck," they were hissing, pointing agitatedly at them. "It's 1am in the morning, why the fuck is it suddenly _boiling_ in here?"

"I was cold," Purple grumbled, but looking at Cyan told them for once the human probably had actual reason to be upset. They looked like they were sweating profusely due to the new temperature. Purple turned around and set it back at 30 degrees. A nice compromise if you asked them.

Apparently not. "30? Are you serious?" Cyan stepped forward, glaring at the device now. "Set it back to where it was five minutes ago or so help me."

"I'd freeze, idiot!" Purple snapped. "I wouldn't want to meddle with your earth tech if I had a choice!"

"26." Cyan budged a little.

"29."

"28."

"Okay, fine," Purple said with a groan, pressing the arrows until the display read 28 degrees.

"How freezing is freezing?" Cyan finally asked, staring up at Purple and jerking back when they finally took in their half-human appearance. "You, uh, you're different. Does it help?"

Right, Purple had almost forgotten that Cyan had terrible night vision, and the small amount of light emitted by this temperature device probably didn't do much for Cyan. 

Resisting the urge to scratch at their horns self-consciously because why was that even an instinct, Purple replied, "My real form has a higher internal body temperature. It does help, but not by much."

"...oh." Cyan shrugged. "I mean, the solution's simple, you just need to wear a jacket or something, idiot."

"...what is a jacket?"

"Aliens and their shitty tech," Cyan was mumbling under their breath now. They spun around and headed back into their quarters. "Invented space travel? Yes! Waging planet wide wars? No problem! A jacket? Never heard of it before!" The sounds of Cyan rummaging through something.

"I can hear you! At least have the decency to insult me to my face!" Purple called back. "You know we don't wear clothes!"

"Well, maybe you should! Look where it's gotten you, dumbass!" Cyan reappeared, brandishing a strange fabric thing. It wasn't anything like the suits Purple had seen the crew wear daily. Cyan stepped next to Purple, grabbing their half-formed tentacle arm and helping Purple ease them into the holes of the 'jacket'. Cyan's build was smaller than Purple's, so they had to adjust their body a little to make it a comfortable fit. Purple brought one arm up to their face and sniffed it. It smelt like Cyan, a little faint but still there.

"Better?" Cyan asked, hands on their hips and looking away from Purple. They were blushing, too, for some reason. 

"Warmer now." Purple shifted fingers back onto one hand and flexed them. "But your fabric doesn't cover these?"

"Use your brain," Cyan grumbled. "Look, genius, there are pockets here. What do you think they're for?" They grabbed Purple's arm and shoved it into said pocket.

"...and you humans sleep like this?"

"If we're cold enough," said Cyan, their shrugging taking on a defensive energy. "Now fuck off, I don't want to see you until at least 8am, understand?"

"You really require excessive sleep," Purple said in a sardonic tone.

"And you need enough heat to blow up this ship." Cyan was already going back into their bunks with their middle finger up in the air. "Keep the damn thing so you don't wake me up again. The next time you do that I'm going to skin you alive. Good night, stupid cunt."

With that they shut the door, and Purple was left standing alone in the corridor. For reasons unknown to Purple, they hesitated to simply walk back to their room. Because, well, Cyan's gift seemed to be making Purple more than warm. They were sweating and all three of their hearts were going haywire.

 _It must be the scent,_ Purple complained to themself. _Damn human can't even take a shower properly._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I should mention that Cyan's 24 and Purple's the equivalent of 21. Purple's going to be struggling a lot more with the feelings train compared to Cyan, that's for sure.


	2. Chapter 2

Cyan had woken up at 11. _11_ and here they were finally showing their face. Purple had slept for two hours before they had woken up at 3 and started wandering idly around the ship. Now that there weren't any crewmates left, Purple found themself bored with nothing to occupy their time. So naturally they were more than a little annoyed when Cyan finally stumbled in at almost _noon_. 

"What happened to 8am?" Purple asked with an obviously fake smile.

Cyan scowled and rubbed at their eyes. "No thanks to you, my sleep schedule's been so messed up recently. I'm catching up on sleep now, okay?"

"And here I thought humans needing a third of your days to sleep was high." Cyan had slept for what, eleven hours at best?

"It's too early in the morning to deal with your shit," Cyan grumbled, going to the fridge and pulling out leftover slices of cold pizza. They sat across from Purple and gave them the stink eye.

"It's nearly lunch."

"Shut up," said Cyan, though it was muffled by them biting into the pizza. The pizza that they had just taken. Straight out of the fridge. Purple couldn't help but wrinkle their nose at that. Even Cyan appeared to realise it was weird, as they just gave a shrug in response.

The conversation died down then, as Purple fiddled with the empty coffee cup on the table while Cyan ate. Cyan looked at them, back down at the pizza, before finally staring into the distance. Purple felt awkwardness prickling all over their skin. They settled for spinning their coffee cup in circles on the table.

The thing was, Purple had never actually been in a committed relationship before. Now, without the crewmates around to push them, they were more than a little confused in how to proceed. It was bad enough having to deal with their own feelings. Nobody had told Purple how to handle this!

And Cyan was an idiot who couldn't possibly have been in any romantic relationship whatsoever.

Unless they _had_? 

No, who would even want to date someone like them? They were only here right now because Purple was an even bigger idiot than Cyan was and had let the human creep into their heart.

"Okay, you know what, we should do something."

Purple glanced back up to realise Cyan had finished all the pizza while they were deep in thought. They were crossing their arms and tapping their fingers along their own skin. Unfortunately they had that 'plotting nasty shit' smile on their face again and Purple wasn't sure if that should have sent a thrill through their entire frame.

Purple decided they hated it instead when Cyan sidled up next to them. Absolutely hated it when Cyan put their hand over theirs again and used the momentum to pull them in. It was the worst thing ever when Cyan leaned in close and their scent wafted around Purple in an absolutely horrid fashion. Purple restrained themself from leaning in close.

Cyan was snickering at Purple's suffering. "Look at you, you little bitch, where's all of that bragging now?"

"Still here. Could still dish it out if I wanted to," said Purple stiffly, although even they could admit their voice was a little hoarse. In their defense it was a little hard to think when they felt like they had been paralysed by something. They were having a heart attack, it was all because of Cyan, and when Purple died they would get their revenge from beyond the grave by saddling them with the astronomical hospital bills. Insults were familiar, whatever this was was uncharted territory.

"Come on, the only time you seem to relax is when you're insulting me," continued Cyan, smiling even wider now, like this was fucking hilarious or something. "But this is pretty good too, you know, I won't complain."

Purple wanted to wrench their hand out of Cyan's grasp and yell at them because holy fuck this was embarrassing. They wanted to _kill_ something to forget this ever happened. Except they also wanted to remember this, because Cyan was so close and… it wasn't _that_ bad, but still nowhere near the list of things Purple currently wanted. In fact, could Cyan go away and let them recover, please and thank you very much.

But something in Cyan's smile made Purple's resolve crumble. Purple relented and twined their fingers between Cyan's once again. The way their eyes lit up was just horrible. So terrible that Purple might remember this moment for the rest of their life. Purple turned and stared at one of the windows on the Skeld. Maybe they would find some answer out in that galaxy of stars. To what, they couldn't say. 

"Alright, alright, I get you're shy," Cyan teased. "We can stop doing this and go do, uh, normal friend bonding shit instead."

Even now Cyan was being so _patient_. And Purple didn't know why they acted this way, honestly. Perhaps, just perhaps, Cyan didn't deserve that.

"...yeah, okay," said Purple, mumbling their words. "What kind of activity would that entail?"

"I have the perfect game in mind!" Cyan grinned and drew some cards from their suit pocket in a flourish. "Strip poker!"

On second thought, Cyan deserved to die slowly and painfully.

Cyan was still cackling loudly on the ground, covered in cards as Purple stomped away.


	3. Chapter 3

"Purpleeeee!"

"Go away!" Purple yelled through the vents. Cyan's stupid face was pressed right up against the grills. It had been a brilliant idea at the time to escape, Purple thought, given that Cyan couldn't shift their body to fit through the vents.

Cyan, however, was apparently a very determined marathon runner, who had chased Purple from electrical to weapons to the cafe and now to the reactor. So what if Purple hadn't shown up for dinner, they didn't even eat that human crap anyway! They would stay in here for as long as they needed to get a handle on these stupidly new emotions. It was not _sulking_ , Cyan. Sulking was for childish idiots like them anyway.

"Come on, I'm just worried," Cyan was saying now. They started banging on the vent cover. "Did I go too far?"

"No, it's just the fact you exist," Purple yelled back. "You're the cause of all my problems!"

"Oh gee, this is the thanks I get for trying to be nice," Cyan grumbled. "Next time I'll let you suffer alone, you ungrateful shit."

"No! No, wait, no, I…" Purple let out a sigh. "See? I just… I'm overwhelmed."

"You really need to find better ways to show it, then," Cyan said sardonically. "This isn't even the first time. How old are you, five? I'm not just going to sit here and take your shit, you know!"

"Look, I know, so shut the fuck up. Everything's just so new to me," Purple mumbled, angling their gaze downwards so they were staring into the darkness of the vents. "I'm… I apologise."

Cyan stopped their dreadful vent banging. "Wait, so I'm your first partner?"

"In the romantic sense, yes," said Purple, closing their eyes. As if Cyan figuring out that Purple wasn't actually all that skilled wasn't embarrassing enough. Now this had to happen. "I thought you'd have figured it out when I was explaining how potential mates worked for my species, you dumbass."

"Uh," said Cyan. There was a pause while they seemed to be finding appropriate words. While Purple waited, they started fidgeting, playing with a dust bunny in the corner. Wow, it really was a mess down here. Anything to distract themself from Cyan looming ominously above the vents.

But that meant Cyan actually had been in such relationships before? No wonder they were so frustratingly confident. Purple briefly wondered who it had been with, before a surge of protective jealousy in their chest made them want to _bite_ something. Okay, so perhaps they would shelf that thought for now.

At long last, Cyan finally found their voice. "Romantic sense?" 

Apparently, no, they did not have sensible questions to ask.

"Tan was a better friend than you in every sense of the word," said Purple, letting a bit of pride sneak into their sentence.

"That's, uh, great, because we're trying to not be friends, right?" Cyan asked, obviously making an effort to sound gentler. "Look, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed I wasn't your first, okay?"

Cyan was apologising for once? That caught Purple's attention. They looked up outside the vents to see Cyan pressing their index fingers together. "How do I say this… it's pretty rare for us as adults to not have at least dated someone before," Cyan explained. "I kinda… uh, ran with that assumption."

It was still so awkward whenever they tried to be sincere. It was just so _embarrassing_. Even now Purple wanted to call Cyan an idiot just to get them to yell back and start one of those familiar fights again. But Purple was rather sure that wouldn't solve anything. Like it or not, Purple first had to deal with themself, then with Cyan. Cyan had asked for them to at least try this relationship thing, and as little as Purple knew, they realised that constant fighting probably wasn't conducive.

But it was just… such a big step…

"You okay?" Cyan was squinting into the dark depths of the vent again. "Want to come up here and talk?"

No, no, no. The distance between them was the only thing giving Purple a semblance of calm. But Cyan just sounded so _earnest_ and maybe Purple should just hear them out for a second.

Holy _crap_. For every moment Purple hated their biology, this particular one would take the top of that list. Purple was absolutely _whipped_ not even a week in on this stupid hell trip back home. Fucking _why_.

"Can I look for you a little bit later?" Purple finally asked in a mumble. "I, uh… I need to sort my shit out first."

"Hey, fair enough." Cyan shrugged and stood up, thankfully not over the vent cover. "I'll just be… on my phone. If you need me. Or until I fall asleep. Who knows. Times a tickin'."

"Oh go ahead and catch up on your precious beauty sleep." Purple rolled their eyes in exasperation. "Maybe then next mission you can actually kill more crewmates than I did."

"Just for that, I'm going to make the next crew turn on each other and vote everyone out! Votes don't count, huh? We'll see who's talking then!" Cyan yelled back, but their voice was growing fainter and so were their footsteps. Huh, the annoying brat had actually listened for once. Too bad Purple didn't deem that important enough to respond.

Now alone, Purple picked up one of the dust bunnies and started jabbing idly at it, imagining it was one of the crewmates and they were taking out their frustration on it. But strangely enough, Cyan's talk had made Purple feel a little less stressed out.

Oh damn it, this meant Purple had to admit that Cyan had actually _helped_. And there was no way they were doing that in a million years. Indeed, perhaps Purple wouldn't come out of this vent at all for said next million years. That'd force Cyan to think on their own, the little punk.


	4. Chapter 4

Purple didn't know how long it had been - but after reflecting on their thoughts for a while they had finally arrived at the answer they were seeking. 

Cyan being annoying, on purpose to boot, was driving Purple absolutely up the wall. Simple enough.

Oh no, Cyan wasn't going to one-up Purple that easily. They intended to keep their murder streak going, and they would have to improvise and adapt to Cyan's shitty tactics if it was the last thing they would ever do.

Sensing a presence, Purple climbed out of the vents in the lower engine. Sure enough, there was Cyan, flipping a switch around idly.

"Oh, Purple," said Cyan without turning around, staring at the images on the screen. "How nice of you to finally deem me worthy of your presence."

"Ugh, this has… that was… nothing! I just needed to… think!" 

So much for overcoming Cyan tactics.

"Pull the stick outta your ass, I'm just teasing," Cyan said with narrowed eyes.

Purple shook their head in agitation and stepped forward. "The hell are you doing anyway?"

"I'm playing with the engine output."

" _Why?_ "

"There's nothing to do here without you." Cyan blinked up at Purple, feigning innocence with an absolutely infuriating wink. "I missed you soooo much."

"I could've sworn you wanted me to fuck off a week ago," Purple snapped, crossing their arms and turning away. They could feel heat rising on their shapeshifted skin again. Why did Cyan always do this to them? It must be their stupid alien biology and this stupid mate picking system.

"Isn't it funny how things change?" Cyan finally aligned the engine output properly and turned to Purple. "I actually want your company, unbelievable."

Purple actually didn't know how to respond to that, so they just kept their mouth shut, mind buzzing. "Then… what have you been doing this whole time?" Purple finally deflected.

If Cyan noticed the obvious bait, they didn't comment on it for once. "Online shopping for my gun collection," Cyan replied casually, picking their strange rectangular device from their pocket, which Purple assumed was their 'phone'. "My boss was talking to me about getting a replacement for my main gun anyway."

"Your main?"

"I know it's hard for your tiny brain to comprehend with your murder tongue and all," Cyan said, rolling their eyes, "but these are _tools_ , they wear down over time, am I right?"

"Contrary to popular belief, I'm not as stupid as you are," Purple hissed. "I knew that already!"

"Then you can help me pick one."

"Pick…?" Purple blinked as Cyan's phone was shoved in their face.

"Yes, idiot, which one looks the best to you?"

"I'm… uh…" Words in that darned 'English' Purple had forced themself to learn drifted before their eyes. They had no idea what statistics they were looking at. But Cyan was looking at them expectantly, so maybe they could at least help give a second opinion.

"Um, I think I'm running low on polish and bullets," Cyan mused to themself while Purple tried to make sense of what even made the guns different apart from shape and colour. Purple looked at Cyan's face and took in the sparkle in their eyes and their bright smile. "I have a few more spare, but… hm, this one's my favorite, the reload's absolutely horrible on my backup one, but my main one's pretty old… I brought a rifle too but that's more for hunting…" 

Cyan finally realised Purple wasn't responding, and their words trailed off. Regarding Purple with an unamused look, they asked, "You have no idea what any of this is, do you?"

"...that one looks the most efficient." Purple finally just selected one at random. Cyan looked back at their phone in thought and frowned in contemplation. A serious look suited them pretty well, to be honest. Purple felt a flush across their cheeks and looked down at their feet.

Cyan was… oddly mesmerising talking about their interests. The way they were explaining everything to Purple with such obvious enthusiasm? Purple hesitated to call it _cute_ , but the sentiment was quite similar. Not that they would admit that.

Good thing Cyan wasn't paying any attention to Purple at all, still scrolling on their phone. "Yeah… I was thinking about that one, but I'm not sure if I should be trading firepower for more range. And my hands are pretty small. I'm pretty comfortable with this guy here." Cyan traced the outline of the gun in their pocket with their other hand. "Maybe I'll try it out whenever I get back home, but in the meantime the rest will tide me over."

Purple was glad for any distraction from their stupid thoughts. "How many guns do you even have with you?"

A sly smile crossed Cyan's face. They held their fingers up one by one. "Like… five?"

"You snuck _five_ guns past immigrations and security?" Purple was genuinely baffled.

"Oh hell yes I did, there's no way I'll be separated from my babies," Cyan said, puffing out their chest. "And add on maybe ten or so knives and daggers. Which, by the way, is way more impressive than shapeshifting your stupid mouth shut."

"...I suppose so," Purple acknowledged grudgingly. "Fine, you get one more point on your stupid competition thing."

"Hell yes. Suck my dick, dipshit." Cyan's smile widened and they started typing something on their phone. No doubt a list of reasons why they were better than Purple. They wouldn't put it past that stupid brat to make a pointless list like that. Succeed at two missions and already they thought they could beat Purple. They would just have to show them up properly next time, then.

"Hey, anyway, have you told your boss about me?" Purple interrupted, now disgruntled.

"Uh." Cyan stopped typing. "I will, eventually. Once I land on your planet or something and make up a story about how I met you there. Money, remember?"

"Yes, yes," Purple grumbled, "but what are we going to say?"

"Oh, fuck." Cyan paused. "Your planet was nearby, uh, this ship needed fuel… I met you, hm, eating some poor soul alive and I was very smart and said to myself, 'hey I need this bitch on my side!'"

"Where would you be without me to remind you of these things?" Purple sighed and stared upwards at the ceiling. "I suppose you get a weird kick out of portraying me as some monster."

"Oh shut it, what are you going to tell _your_ boss?"

Purple stared at Cyan with a look of utter disgust. "Uh, we just met here? Obviously? They knew you were here?"

"Oh, ugh. You know what, fine." Cyan lifted both their arms in the air. "I guess I was never gonna win that one, huh?"

"No," Purple said, letting smugness creep into their tone. 

"Oh no, my pride's been wounded," Cyan said, back to staring at their phone. "Anyway, any chance your planet has gun shops?"

"The fuck do you think?"

"What am I going to do for entertainment now," Cyan groaned. "This ship is so boring. Your planet's going to be boring. You're boring!"

"I will go back into the vents," Purple said flatly.

"Okay, go ahead, it's 11pm and I've had enough of you for the day." Cyan flipped their middle finger at Purple as they walked in the direction of their bunks. "See you tomorrow, asshat."

"Wait, the fuck?" Purple asked incredulously. "Sleeping _again_?"

"So what if I am? You sap my energy." 

"I… okay, whatever, sweet dreams or some bullshit," Purple grumbled under their breath, fidgeting. They were blushing _again_. Damn it, this really had to stop happening or _Purple_ would be the one complaining it was too hot on the ship.

Cyan's face softened at that and they gave Purple a little wave in return. "Yeah. Night." And with that they were off again. Which was a good thing, because Purple felt all fuzzy and their legs were shaking just because the little brat had actually _smiled_ at them. 

On purpose or not, Cyan was becoming far too good at making Purple flustered, and they didn't know if they liked that at all.


	5. Chapter 5

Purple didn't know what to do with themself in the early hours of the morning. In the past, when it was just them and Tan, they could at least practice. Or talk. Or do literally _anything_. Cyan was proving to be a special challenge, weren't they?

Purple almost wished they had the annoying crewmates back again - it was just so silent and empty and Purple had nothing better to do, and when they had nothing better to do, their thoughts tended to circle back to Cyan. At least, until they scolded themself for doing so, because this was truly an excessive amount and Purple had more important things to deal with than that stupid idiot.

Like… poking around on this computer. Purple fiddled with the mouse, scowling at their useless fingers. Whoever was in charge of this before might have some information their boss should know. It was pretty unlikely Purple would get another task to assassinate another ship this soon, but might as well prove themself useful no matter how annoying it was. Purple had gotten a rank up ever since they made it out of their and Tan's ill-fated mission alive, and they would honor that.

Purple felt melancholy for their deceased mentor-slash-partner wash over them for a moment before they shook it away. And in that moment, the formerly green screen had turned black and blue with an intercepting message from their boss. 

Purple felt their hearts speed up before they clicked on it and were connected via video. "Good… morning, Mx Fortegreen," they said, trying to appear alert.

"Purple, what's your status?"

"We should be arriving in about five days."

"Good," Fortegreen replied, flashing a fanged grin. "You've been performing very well, Purple. I expect this to remain a trend. Once you're back, sign back into your bunks immediately. You have a briefing you need to attend."

"...about that," Purple started slowly, "we might have a new member I need to guide around."

Fortegreen blinked. Then they leaned forward in interest. "Interesting… did one of the crewmates go rogue?"

"No, it's…" Purple was squirming in their seat. They had seemed confident in front of Cyan, but actually saying this to Fortegreen? This was making them want to melt in their seat right then and there. "Do you remember the other impostor you briefed me about, mx? The one named Cyan?"

"You gained their trust?" Fortegreen's eye beamed. "Excellent work. I will see to it they are assigned someone to show them around."

"No!" Purple cried without thinking. Then mortification overcame them. Fortegreen, however, didn't react beyond looking faintly amused as Purple scrambled to compose themself. "I, I mean… I was hoping to… show them around, mx," Purple stammered, their many tentacles wrapping and circling each other out of nervousness below the table.

"I seem to remember you saying you didn't _want_ another partner after Tan?" Fortegreen asked, their eyes widening in mock surprise.

Purple gulped and looked away. "No, I didn't say that, when did I say that?"

"You said," said Fortegreen matter-of-factly while flipping through a notepad, "'fucking hell, I don't know what I'll do without them, that stupid bitch had to go and die and I'll never have that synergy with anyone else ever again.' Rather eloquent, I'd say."

"...when did I say that," Purple mumbled, dropping their gaze to stare at the floor.

"It's not important, dear Purple. We all attack others in the heat of the moment when we're challenged by grief," Fortegreen said, throwing the notepad over their shoulder nonchalantly. "So, a human, huh?" 

And Purple did _not_ like the sly way they were saying that sentence.

"It's rather admirable for someone to unapologetically slaughter their own species," Fortegreen drawled, ignoring the way Purple was sinking lower and lower below the computer's camera. "Such courage, such bravery, such ruthlessness! I can see why you'd be drawn to Cyan."

"No, mx, I'm not," Purple grumbled, frowning as they twined their tentacles around themselves.

"So you _don't_ mind not being their partner?"

"I didn't say that!"

"You've got to make up your mind, Purple," Fortegreen sang in that horribly taunting voice. "I'll take care of things here, but if you keep behaving this way I might have to reassign Cyan after all. I wouldn't want you to get _too_ distracted from your own denials. Don't worry, you'll still see them… once a month, maybe!" And with that, Fortegreen shut off the video call without so much as a goodbye.

Purple was left staring at the words 'call ended' and the incessant drone of a ringtone. Finally, they found it in themself to properly shut it off, if only because it was so annoying.

First Cyan, now Fortegreen? Was everyone around Purple just _insane?_ How were they supposed to just _decide_ like that? This was a life-altering change and they couldn't just ease into it overnight. That was just dumb.

Still, though, a potential partnership with Cyan was on the line here, so as much as it pained Purple to admit it, they were… probably going to have to start being honest with themself. 

And maybe Cyan would appreciate that too?

The thought of their happiness made Purple feel a little tingly spark and then they were burying their head in their hands and screaming silently.

So maybe this would take a whole lot of work for poor Purple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fortegreen is apparently the default colour in Among Us before the game properly recognises you're in the lobby and assigns a 'proper' colour to you.


	6. Chapter 6

"Is that my jacket?"

Purple started at Cyan's amused voice, looking down at themself and reddening when they realised they had, in fact, forgotten to take it off before Cyan surely awoke. It had just been so warm and cozy, and their scent was comforting…

"Uh… no?" Purple tried before remembering this was an absolutely implausible denial. "You can have it back," Purple said then, turning back to the computer monitor. In the hours since that stupid meeting with Fortegreen Purple had learnt how to bypass the security set in place to access the human internet. 

Humans really did such weird things in their free time. Especially Cyan, who apparently thought pissing Purple off was so funny.

"No way, it's a good look on you," said Cyan teasingly, who had apparently taken Purple looking away as an invitation to come closer. What an idiot. They were leaning their head on the computer desk now, kneeling on the floor in their nightclothes because they hadn't even bothered to get dressed and Purple was trying not to think about the time they woke Cyan up on their ceiling now. The thin cotton was far more flattering to their figure than that astronaut suit and Purple did not like where their thoughts were heading.

"By the way, my boss is impressed by you," Purple tossed out as a means of deflecting the conversation. 

"You guys talked?" Cyan was staring at Purple's screen. "When you were… uh, not busy browsing social media? When did you even know this existed anyway?"

"Yes, before, obviously," Purple grumbled. "Our organization wouldn't mind having you."

"Oh, huh. I mean, I'm flattered, but… what kind of organisation _is_ this anyway?"

"The military."

"Holy fuck, you're a _soldier_?" Cyan grinned and rested their cheek on their folded arms, staring up at Purple with half-lidded eyes. "That's kinda hot."

"S-so you can have normal kinks," Purple said, the red deepening as they pointedly looked away from Cyan.

Purple heard Cyan made a small noise of affirmation and then ask, "How on earth did they even let _you_ in?"

"I'll have you know I'm doing quite well!" Purple snapped. "I was promoted rather quickly for how many years I've been training."

"Your military really has no sense of professionalism, do they?"

And there was something about the flippant way Cyan said it that made fury build in their chest. " _No,_ " Purple said quietly, whipping around to glare at Cyan, "it's because Tan _died_ when I didn't, you insensitive fuck."

"...oh," said Cyan, their eyes wide now. "I… uh, didn't know."

"Course you didn't," Purple said, their tone returning to a more neutral one now.

Cyan had one hand reaching out to Purple, but their gesture was rather hesitant. Cyan's gaze flicked around the area of communications for a couple seconds longer before they eventually said in a softer fashion, "Uh… the military has you guys go on these suicide missions? For what?"

Self-consciousness pricked at Purple's skin. This was turning into some weird interview session. Or kind of… like a second date. Didn't Purple remember their parents talking about how you should 'get to know' someone before affirming your choice in a mate?

...come to think of it, Purple wasn't sure what their parents' reactions would be to Purple suddenly visiting their childhood cavern and announcing, 'by the way, I met someone on a mission not even the same species as me but we really hit it off, I know we yell at each other all the time, it's just our love language, don't worry too much about it! Love you guys!'

"Ugh, the situation's getting desperate back home," said Purple with a shake of their head to clear their thoughts. "You humans decided to come play space invaders on our planet and we're retaliating. Even our undertrained youth are being sent off lately."

Even Cyan seemed to have an ounce of sympathy, judging by the small noise they made. "I didn't know. I thought you said it was for the money?" they asked, curious.

"Well, yes, it's _also_ for the money," Purple said with a roll of their eyes. "Listen, you have any idea how many other races want us to get rid of you humans for _free_? 'We have _contacts_ , you'll get so much exposure when we shout you out!' Do they realise exposure is terrible for our line of work? Just because we're the only race that can shapeshift to blend in with you doesn't mean they're entitled to our services!"

"Yeah, that sucks. And it seems we have a lot of enemies," said Cyan, who did not look at all surprised by that fact.

"Well, yes, destroy the ecosystems of a few planets and everyone starts to hate you, I wonder why." Purple shook their head and turned to Cyan, who was doing their best to look like they were paying attention. "And you? Why do you kill?"

"No reason as cool as you've got," said Cyan with a shrug. 

"Yeah, but why?"

"Is in cahoots with the mafia a good enough reason for you?" Cyan gave a sniff of disdain. "Ugh, they talk big but they're too cowardly to do their own work. Law enforcement's a risk they won't take or some shit. Boring backstabby businessmen, the lot of them. They pay a lot, though, so I won't complain to their faces at least."

Purple tilted their head. "The mafia?" 

"Organised crime."

"Oh, you're actually a criminal," said Purple with a smirk. "On the run, huh? _That's_ hot."

"I knew you had it in you to flirt back, you've just been holding out on me all this time. And speaking of which, I have better ideas to pass the time than chatting about those annoying rich fucks." Cyan laughed and grabbed one of Purple's half-shifted tentacle arms. 

Purple jerked back a little at the surprise touch before they forced themself to relax, leaning into the warmth of Cyan's hand. Cyan smiled up at them at that. Hesitating for a moment longer, Purple's gaze briefly darted away before they settled on Cyan again, giving them an awkward smile.

"You know, I like it when you're obedient. We should continue this. I'm hungry and you're making me breakfast," Cyan insisted as they headed in the direction of the cafeteria.

"A-alright," Purple replied, nervously brushing the back of their horns.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone wondering, yes, I do envision Black from Impostor On Board as one of those undertrained youths.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're checking in with Cyan on this one. It's been a while

Alright, so Cyan had been learning a few things about their new partner these past few days. Purple was genuinely really shy, but they seemed to enjoy hiding it behind that familiar layer of harshness. Perhaps it was a cultural thing. Purple was also, at the very least, primed for combat but supposedly lacking in field experience. Fair enough, it wasn't like Cyan could say anything about that. And lastly, Purple could _not_ cook to save their life.

"Oh no, it's on fire," said Cyan, raising an eyebrow and making absolutely no attempt to help. They were too busy being cool and leaning against the wall and laughing at Purple's misery. Purple made a sound that Cyan was starting to suspect was actually an alien curse word. 

Purple finally solved the problem by taking the overdone meal out of the microwave and dunking it under ice cold running water. At least their jacket had been placed at the counterside, reason being the microwave produced lots of heat and Cyan fucking _smelled_ shut up and go away. This way Cyan wouldn't have to wash any unfortunate stains out.

"You can't swipe your card and you can't use a microwave. You can't do jack shit," Cyan snickered even as Purple gave them a glare to rival the temperature of the tap water. The embers had cooled to simple smoky plumes.

"Oh, shut it. When we finally get to my planet we'll see who's laughing, you fucking brat." Purple fumbled awkwardly with the package. They opened it, took a sniff, and then Cyan watched in impressed silence while Purple ate it whole. 

"Trash can," Cyan commented, laughing as Purple's expression only soured further.

"Only because your feeble human stomach can't handle raw meat."

"It handles raw meat like you handle affection," Cyan replied, and had to grasp at the countertop when they saw Purple's expression - caught off guard at first, before slowly leading up to embarrassment, and Cyan knew Purple enough by now to know indignation would soon follow.

"Okay! Okay! No more, I swear!" Cyan had to force out between giggles as Purple's torso tongue struck the wall just beside Cyan hard enough to leave a visible dent in the wall. 

"It had better stay that way." Despite their authoritative tone, it was clear at least some part of Purple was forcing it into their voice. Their leg-tentacles were, to Cyan's amazement, actively dissolved so Purple resembled a useless blob in the center of the kitchen. Their eye was angled downwards and Purple seemed to be… crossing their arms, if Cyan had to liken their multi-limbed gesture to one of a human's. Now was probably a good time to start building up that alien language vocabulary.

"Aw, hey, did I go too far again?" Cyan sat down next to Small Purple Blob and patted the area next to them as an invitation. See, this was the problem with Cyan. A loose cannon, an impulsive tendency to just go with the flow. In their defense, you couldn't just give them a gun and expect them _not_ to shoot the nearest passerby, but they digress.

"...no?" Purple's uncertainty brought Cyan back to the moment.

"Do you not like it?" Cyan pressed. "Like, honestly."

Purple's gaze darted back up for a moment before flitting away again. "It's… it's okay," they finally admitted. "It's… new, but strange, I guess. I'm not really used to these human gestures, since we're more lowkey overall, but it's… it's not putting me off." They paused for a moment before adding, "I suppose… I wouldn't want you to stop, either, just for my sake."

Small Purple Blob just looked so cute in that oddly vulnerable moment, with their entire body turning an increasingly familiar shade of pink. Cyan felt themself smiling at that, standing up and grabbing Purple by their arms to 'drag' Purple back to their normal height.

"I want you to be comfortable around me," Cyan insisted.

"Pretty hard to do when you insult me all the time," said Purple, their words warmer than Cyan had expected.

"Ah, yes, but remember who threw me on that medbay bed first?" Cyan's smile blossomed into an all-out grin. "What if you liked me from the start?"

"I find that rather hard to believe given you have precisely zero likeable traits."

Purple couldn't just literally dissolve from embarrassment, then respond like _this_ so quickly afterwards, and expect Cyan not to get swept along for the ride. For one thing, their pride was on the line, and for another, Cyan was really, really itching to show their fellow impostor up once again. It was honestly _infuriating_.

"Zero, huh?" Cyan murmured, their voice going dangerously soft. Purple had enough time to widen their eye before Cyan's hands had wandered to what could probably be defined as Purple's neck. A little slippery, so Cyan found their right hand wandering down to what was possibly their waist. Cyan couldn't tell at the moment, because they were looking into Purple's eye with a gaze equal parts heated and challenging.

Cyan felt more than heard Purple gulp, the process causing a small shift in the shape of their neck. They shivered slightly as Cyan cautiously stroked their sides with their fingers, but they stubbornly refused to back down.

"You must have seen something in me," said Cyan.

"Nothing good, certainly," said Purple with equal fervour.

"You do realise you're more experienced than me only in killing others, right?" Cyan cocked their head to the side, sure they were outright smirking now, and confident that Purple knew what it meant. Couldn't help it. Compulsive plotting was a nasty habit of theirs. "I've got you beat hands down in terms of _this_."

"I'll believe it when you give me something to show for that claim," Purple responded in a taunting tone.

_There._

Cyan tilted their head upwards, pressing their lips to… okay yeah Purple didn't have lips, but they still felt wonderfully warm. Their eyes closed, they heard Purple take in a sharp inhale and wondered absently if, just like they had two mouths, they had two sets of lungs. 

Then all idle chatter fled from their mind as Purple coiled them closer with their other tentacles, and Cyan felt pleasant and tingly and almost _hot_ all over at their touch. Purple was a little awkward, following Cyan's lead the best they were able. 

Cyan let out a little gasp at the sensation of Purple's fangs nipping at their bottom lip and that unfortunately seemed to break Purple out of their trance, immediately jerking away and face flushed bright.

"I… I-I," they stammered, as Cyan had discovered they were prone to do after an intense bout of bashfulness. This, of course, meant that Cyan was doing their job properly. Damn idiot wouldn't challenge them again like this for sure. Cyan batted their eyelashes in an almost mocking fashion, despite the fact their own heart rate was going so fast it would probably count as a heart attack. 

"What was that? I couldn't hear you."

"Nothing," said Purple, flustered. "I… it's just, you just…" They made some aimless gestures with their tentacles. "Hnngh."

"You want more?" Cyan asked bluntly, _only_ because they were tired of watching Purple flop around uselessly. Honest. 

The way Purple ducked their head and twisted some of their tentacles around themselves was beyond adorable, so distractingly cute that Cyan almost missed the quiet "yes" they had muttered.

Cyan, briefly, found themselves marvelling at the fact that such an irritable impostor-partner had become a legitimate romance-partner. They definitely hadn't thought this would be the case at the start. But as they smiled into their second kiss, they found they really didn't have it in themself to complain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My irl friend slamming my door open: hERTZ THEY HAVENT KISSED  
> Me: but  
> My irl friend: I DONT FUCKIGN CARE U HEAR ME HERTZ


	8. Chapter 8

It was with some embarrassment that Purple realised they had let Cyan get carried away _again_. And given that Purple was an absolutely useless cook, Cyan saw it fit to make their own meal. And so now they sat in Cyan’s room while the idiot happily munched on cereal. What the hell, they could have done that, Cyan was just rubbing it in at this point. 

More accurately, Purple was fidgeting awkwardly at the foot of Cyan’s bed while they were wrapped up in blankets on the mattress. Beds weren’t a thing back home, but Purple had vaguely remembered reading about the phenomenon. At its most basic, beds were a place for humans to rest their heads while they slept at night. But Purple sunk their head into their legs as they remembered that humans tended to be quite picky about who they shared their sleeping quarters with.

Were they supposed to be here, or… well Cyan had told them to come in but were they supposed to be _here-here_?

"You know, since we've kissed we're official now," Cyan said aloud amidst more chewing. Rude. Purple didn't know whether or not to believe them given the amount of mischief evident in their voice. They really needed to learn how to stop getting swept along by Cyan. They had just _let_ Cyan do what they wanted...

"Kissing? Is that what it's called?" Purple shot one tentacle over their eye. They felt like their entire body was burning up even just at the memory of… _that_. Flustered, Purple tried to distract themself by staring at the floor because otherwise they might just melt from the pressure again. Yes, this was good.

"Yeah," Cyan affirmed. Purple heard them drop the metal spoon in the bowl with a clang. When Purple finally deemed it safe to turn around, they spotted Cyan crudely throwing the bowl onto their nightstand. There was a loud clattering as the bowl wobbled unsteadily on its base for a few moments.

Seriously, could this idiot not do _anything_ non-violently?

"I wonder how my parents would take this," Cyan muttered to themself, jabbing the base of the bowl idly with the fork for some reason. 

"Are you still in contact with them?" Purple asked, who couldn't remember the last time they saw their broodmother. They were dreading the eventual conversation that would have to occur whenever they _did_ bring Cyan for a visit. But maybe it wouldn't be that bad - just a house call and then back to work for Purple. It would be strange to stay for too long.

Cyan looked very puzzled. "Uh, yes?" They stopped playing with their empty bowl to beckon Purple up on the bed with them.

"I mean, never met my mother, but my father taught me everything I know," Cyan continued with obvious admiration in their tone. Purple couldn't help but perk up at the rare sight. "I think it was… ten? Ten, yeah, when he finally let me stop playing with _toy_ guns and knives." From their pocket, Cyan unsheathed a knife and turned it over so it caught the gleam of the lights in their room. "This is his knife! For good luck, he said."

"You talk to your parents," said Purple, because for strange reasons this was the only thing they could comprehend. Briefly, they reminisced on warm nights spent snuggling into their hatchmates when they were younger.

"Yeah, we still do." Cyan laughed and rolled their eyes. "He's so overprotective! I can handle myself! Look at this, look at this shit." 

In the next moment, Purple found themself staring at a text conversation on Cyan's phone screen. 

_Cyan, the boss just contacted us. I'm so proud of you for completing the mission so quickly. Every day I'm reminded just how far you've grown. Are you eating and sleeping well? Remember that I'm always here for you if you need to talk about anything._

_daaaad i am doing FINE everything js super fun and since i did well can you get me a new gun now? you promised_

_Anything for you, sweetheart._

"You're a spoiled brat and now I see why," Purple said, glaring at Cyan. Maybe it was better their parents hadn't visited in fifty years if _this_ was the alternative. Enabler.

"It comes with the territory when your father's a gang leader," said Cyan without missing a beat. They rolled over on their side and resumed texting. "I'm just upholding family tradition, you hear? We actually have a reputation to maintain, or the mafia will take their business elsewhere."

"So you used to complete missions together then?" That would be nice. Purple knew at least their siblings Violet and Navy were in some other division. Maybe more. They had yet to catch glimpses of them, however. They also hadn't talked in maybe ten years so that'd be a tad awkward. Never mind.

 _Really,_ Purple realised as they continued to stare at Cyan, there was just no describing how _lonely_ they felt sometimes. Familial connection seemed to actually mean something to humans. Yet, for Purple, Cyan was the only one who had made them feel… peaceful in a while. Like they could actually talk to them as an equal. In a strange way, even their arguing was rather refreshing for that reason alone. Their biology could have chosen right on this one.

Maybe it was because Cyan was too warm and Purple was lost in thought, or even sleepy. But then Purple found themself leaning closer to Cyan and closing their eye. 

"Purple, uh, man, you're making a weird sound," said Cyan after a few moments had passed. Purple opened their eye again to see Cyan with a slight flush on their cheeks.

"Purring," Purple grumbled. "It's purring."

"...what, like a cat?" Cyan asked, actually bursting into laughter at that. Ass.

"I don't know what a cat is but sure," was the best response Purple could muster. Just as Cyan had leaned on their shoulder in that admin room, Purple found themself pressing closer to their warmth.

"What brought this on?"

"Mm, don't know, just… nice to have you here, I suppose. As in, not just because it satisfies my primal brain or anything, because you're… here for me," Purple muttered as quietly as possible. They weren't even sure if they wanted Cyan to hear it.

Cyan heard it.

"You really aren't close with your family, are you?" Cyan finally asked with a sigh. They put an arm around Purple and let them draw closer to them. "How bad is it?"

"It's just the norm for us." Purple shook their head. "Adolescence is when we get kicked out of the nest and have to fend for ourselves. We don't usually visit, either."

"I guess I can get that." Cyan shrugged, smiling wryly. "You know, when you're the leader's kid you get a lot of eyes on you. I mean, you know I've had relationships before, but like… none of them felt sincere. It seemed like they just wanted my status..." At that, Cyan looked up at Purple. "But you have no reason to care about that."

"I don't know about that. Dating a crime lord's child sounds pretty thrilling."

Purple got a pillow in their face for that. They plucked it off, momentarily worried they had crossed a line but relaxed upon seeing Cyan laughing. "Fuck you," they wheezed.

"You haven't even bought me dinner yet," Purple replied with a smile, throwing the pillow back into Cyan's lap. "Then again, nobody ever has so I won't hold that against you."

"Do you not have any friends?" Cyan was looking oddly sympathetic and Purple should have been bothered by this. Instead, they found themself wanting to tell Cyan more about their own life. This was probably pretty boring but Cyan was looking at Purple with interest in their eyes and even now it was rather difficult to refuse.

"By our definition, yes, but something tells me you wouldn't consider them as such."

"Ah, no wonder you're so cranky all the time, not to mention totally awkward. Tell me, how does your species manage to survive, let alone procreate?"

"We have around 800 years to get used to it." Purple shrugged. "I'm 185, all I needed to do was take a few years to work on it here and there and I managed to get the hang of social interaction eventually."

Cyan jerked at that, blinking in shock a few times before their expression cleared and they glanced away. "Oh, uh, yes, indeed, I can see that." They coughed awkwardly. "Yes. I'm happy. For you."

"...are you alright?" Purple leaned to the left in concern. Cyan didn't usually lose their cool like that. Hell, the only time Purple had seen something similar was that time they had (unnecessarily) stabbed Blue to death because they had been _too embarrassed_ by their own feelings.

"Yeah, nevermind." Cyan shook their head. "Hey, you want to bet the cafeteria fridge has dessert?"

"I'm not sure what counts as dessert to you." Did humans even eat dessert with _breakfast_? Purple glanced at the clock. Sorry, _lunch_. Hang on, a clearly labelled _breakfast cereal_ for lunch?

"Ugh, wish I could use vents. I'm going to find out, bye!" Cyan took the opportunity to zoom out, leaving a rather confused Purple behind.

Now that they were gone, Purple found themself occupied only by their own thoughts again. Purple was starting to actively dislike this experience. Even though Cyan was a complete idiot they also had _some_ interesting things to say. It wasn't because Cyan was acting weird or anything. 

Whatever, if the stupid brat wanted to sulk, they could sulk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do think the stuff mentioned here is also canon for Impostor On Board's Black


	9. Chapter 9

Okay, never mind, Purple took it back. Could Cyan stop sulking, please and thank you. Because now it was Purple’s turn to be left in the dark about what their partner was thinking as they stood idly by at Weapons. Cyan seemed to be staring outside at the cosmos, but their eyes were definitely focusing on something decidedly not here. 

Purple was even starting to regret the way they had acted a few days prior, as now being on the receiving end made things far too stressful for them. Was Cyan… mad? They didn’t seem willing to talk and in fact hadn’t said anything since breakfast. Lunch. Whatever.

And the last thing Purple wanted to be was a hypocrite (well at least in the relationships department), which was why they were giving Cyan as much space as they wanted. But it had been six hours and Cyan had kept looking around. Started forward sometimes. Then shrugged or shook their head and went back to staring outside.

It was aggravating, only because Purple wanted to talk and they were forced into the vents because Cyan probably didn’t want to. They weren’t worried about Cyan at all. They were an adult and could take care of themself. They could take care of themself. They’d call for Purple when they wanted them, surely?

However, as Purple watched, Cyan sighed to themself and collapsed heavily on the chair. Their fingers twitched as if itching for something. Purple got their unasked question answered when Cyan manually dragged the Skeld’s controls and proceeded to shoot a dozen high speed asteroids straight on. Purple watched as the asteroids outside shattered into thousands of smaller rocks, feeling both very impressed and also very concerned. Cyan tended to be extra violent when they were upset, Purple had concluded, and so they should probably do something about it before Cyan tried to murder the entire ship itself, because then they’d both die, or something.

Purple was getting worse and worse at justifying their own feelings to themself. Therefore, the next best thing was to sweep it aside and just focus for now.

So, with a sigh of their own, Purple flipped the cover of the vent up. Cyan reflexively whipped around to face them at the sound. Their frown was replaced with wide-eyed shock, and Purple didn’t know which was better.

“I haven’t heard a single piece of bullshit from you in hours. What’s on your mind?” Purple asked bluntly, because they knew by now Cyan preferred brutal honesty. Loved slamming the truth out of others with a sledgehammer. If they didn’t like that returned to them, then that was their own fault.

Purple had assumed right, though, because Cyan simply shrugged and said, “You’re telling me you haven’t dated anyone else in _185 years_? You’re even more of a loser than I thought.”

Purple opened their mouth to return fire before they realised that Cyan’s tone sounded deeply unsettled. Like their insults had their barbs scraped off. “Yeah,” they said lamely instead, lowering their tentacles. “Doesn’t really… happen often for us.”

“Okay,” said Cyan. Then they kind of just sat there and stared at each other. Purple felt like icy pricks were trailing down their entire body. At some point Cyan looked away and crossed their legs in discomfort.

“What’s the issue with that?” Purple asked then, wondering if Cyan wanted them to be even more direct.

“...I’m 24,” said Cyan, crossing their arms now and giving Purple an awkward smile.

“You’re a _hatchling_?” Purple said in horror, before their rational mind caught up - there was no way Cyan was that young, their size and body features matched the other confirmed adult humans on all the previous ships Purple had massacred. So what Cyan was trying to say was…

“No, you idiot,” said Cyan with a frustrated growl. “You live like eight times longer than I do. I’d grow old and die and you’d still be… what the hell are you? Late teens - adolescence? Young adult? Middle aged?”

“...normal? Adult?”

Cyan at least seemed to relax a bit at that. “Okay, that’s not too bad. But you know, the thing is… long-term… I’ve been thinking about… you know...” They made some scrabbling gestures at the air before they turned around and stared out the window again. “Yeah, I know this sounds really dumb, like… I haven’t even really known you that long in human terms, never mind yours. But I mean… I just mean… that would be a problem.” 

Another asteroid down. Purple took a few seconds to watch the resulting fireworks before turning their attention back to Cyan.

“Okay, bear with me, I know this is morbid.” Purple slithered forward a bit, pondering how best to phrase it. Humans cared so much for tone and phrasing, which Purple was definitely not used to. For them, it was always attack first, talk later. Maybe that was why Cyan’s combat skills and general violent demeanour had endeared them to Purple. Cyan certainly knew their way around a knife, and the confident poise with which they had turned and aimed the gun at White had been mesmerising, causing them to almost forget to attack Orange in turn.

They were also getting distracted again, this was _not_ the point, damn it.

“So our line of work.. highly dangerous, yes?” Purple continued after that completely embarrassing lapse in concentration.

If Cyan noticed, they didn’t comment on it. “Yeah, and?” they said, turning around to face Purple again. They were leaning forward, hands clasped together and elbows resting on their thighs.

“I mean… it’s highly likely that we might not… survive that long,” said Purple, wincing a little as the memory of their fallen mentor resurfaced once again. “I mean, you’re right, but… let’s not worry about that for now. When you’re…” Purple did some mental division, “fifty, or something, then we can talk about it. But for now, I think we should, you know, live in the moment.”

Purple resisted the urge to look away. They had essentially implied that yes, they still wanted to _try_ this new thing they had even with cross-species issues getting in the way. It was important to gauge Cyan’s reaction and proceed from there.

And Cyan’s lips were curled in a wry smile once again. “Now, now, Purple. Are you implying I’m _bad_ at my job?”

“If you’re still upset, no, you were… decent,” said Purple, narrowing their eye. “If you’re back to normal, yes, fuck you and fuck your shitty skills, do you want a list of all your screw ups?”

“I can’t ever seem to decide if you like my company or absolutely hate me,” said Cyan with a slightly strained laugh. Then Purple felt themself pale involuntarily as Cyan grabbed them by one of their tentacles and pulled them forward. Onto their _lap_. Which was soft and warm and this was absolutely _terrible_.

“You, mx, are fucking _horrible_ at comforting others,” Cyan might have said while Purple was busy dying of heart failure from being this close again. They laughed, probably _because_ of this very fact, and leaned their head in. “Make me feel better this instant.”

“H-how?” asked Purple, who was suffering. Badly. They wondered what kind of expression they had on their face, because now Cyan was sporting a _deadly_ grin and that was… very attractive. Maybe this was what it was like to be one of Cyan’s victims. Murdered by one extremely sexy assassin’s charm.

“You said it yourself, we should live in the moment,” Cyan teased.

When relieved of higher brain functions, snark. “Those are _very_ vague instructions.” Yes, Purple, good job.

Cyan’s eyes seemed to gleam in the light. “So kiss me.”

“I… yeah, okay, but fuck, I…” Alright, nevermind, Purple would check back in when they could next form words. Why, oh why, did this keep _happening_?

Distracted as they were by Cyan’s hand tracing patterns on one of their tentacles, they almost missed their low whisper of, “No matter who dies first, or even if it doesn’t work out… this is nice.”

Hearing that calmed Purple’s nerves a little, for some reason. ”I agree,” they confessed quietly. Remembering Cyan’s earlier demo this morning, they dared to risk reaching over and tilting Cyan’s head back slightly. Their tentacle was trembling, hearts beating awfully fast, and Purple was sure they were about to make an absolute idiot out of themself.

Cyan seemed to sense their hesitation. They took control once again, then, winding their arms around Purple’s waist and pressing their… their mouths together in that strange new sensation that Purple was starting to find they really enjoyed. 

_Not that I’d ever tell that to the stupid brat,_ Purple thought to themself, even as they let their eyelid fall shut and leaned into the warmth of Cyan’s embrace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: I bet Cyan dying at the end sounds like the good ending now!  
> My irl friend: why. that is literally not how ANY of this works


	10. Chapter 10

“What is this feeling, so sudden and new?”

“I felt the moment I laid eyes on you -“

“Will the both of you _shut up_?” Red slammed the wire panels shut. They turned around then and rivalled Green and Lime with a frosty glare. 

Lime frowned, throwing their ghostly mic over their shoulder and causing it to dissolve in a small puff of smoke. “What’s wrong?”

“One, you both _suck_ at singing,” Yellow answered for Red with a deep sigh.

“That is no way to speak to your captain,” Green grumbled, who was somehow pulling off an aggressive bow.

“You were self-appointed! Did dying make you forget that? And _two_ ,” Yellow said louder, “Cyan killed us! Purple _ate_ us! And worst of all, they act like fucking teenagers! They’re constantly yelling at each other over the most banal shit and now they’re rushing into things?” Yellow put a hand over their forehead, giving a slight shake of their head. “I am far too old for this.”

“I think it makes sense for them,” Pink said meekly, not wanting to incite Yellow’s wrath. “They’re both.. really quite young, though…”

“But blue and purple is a nice aesthetic, kinda,” said Green, their expression unchanging.

“Do _not_ drag me into this,” said Blue’s head that was suddenly poking out of the toilet wall. “The last thing I’d want to do is romance that weird alien _thing_.” They lifted themself out of the wall, shaking their head and playing with their translucent hair. “Cyan… has issues. How would they even work?”

Lime and Green looked at each other.

“They kissed,” said Lime, their expression morphing into a smug smile.

“It’s o-ffi-cial,” Green sang, bouncing off the walls in a weightless fashion. “Did you _see_ the look on Purple’s face?”

“I’m literally going to be sick. Thank god we don’t need to eat anymore,” said Blue in an exasperated tone. 

“Hey, fuck, guys,” called Black as they thrust their entire body through the doorframe. They had a wide grin on their face, though they were rubbing their hands together. “They’re _holding hands_ while Cyan’s sleeping.” Black paused. “Well, like, curling a tentacle around a hand, I guess, but same idea.”

Blue turned around and proceeded to float out of the ship.

“Awww.” Lime smiled, pressing their cheeks against their own cold hands as they leaned forward in interest. “Where’s Orange and White? They have to see this too!”

“Red, let’s go,” said Yellow with another sigh.

Green waved them both off while Black replied, “I left them back in Cyan’s room, actually.”

Lime didn’t need to hear any more, and they skidded ahead of Black, Pink and Green to said room. They were greeted by the sight of Orange hovering over Cyan’s body, with White kneeling to watch. Cyan themself was fast asleep, gripping three of Purple’s tentacles like a bolster pillow as they slept on their side.

“What are you doing?”

Orange blinked, startled at Black’s question. “I was wondering if I caused them to feel a chill they’d start hugging each other?”

“Dude, sweet.” Lime laughed as they dangled their flowy ‘legs’ over Purple’s shut eye. “This is for killing me. Now go do some more cute shit.”

Purple stirred a little, muttering something under their breath.

“Wow, it’s actually working? We can affect them?” Black laughed and leapt on top of the alien, poking their finger deep into their flesh. Their finger seemed to be able to reach _inside_ Purple’s body, and everyone watched as the contact caused Purple’s eye to shoot open and for them to scoot away from the touch with a deep growl.

“Oh, fuck.” Black’s expression was one of dread. “We better run.”

“They can’t see us, right?” Pink nervously asked even amidst trembles. Purple was keeping their entire body low to the bed now, obviously annoyed and scanning the room for any threat. Their gaze briefly flicked to Cyan, softening before they seemed to wrench their focus away to look for any rogue offenders.

“I don’t know, what if aliens can see ghosts or something?” Green pointed out, backing away. “I’m not going to stand around and be killed a second time!”

“We should go, yeah,” White hastily agreed, zooming backwards towards the group - so hasty, in fact, that they dropped something of theirs on the ground.

Purple’s eye flicked towards the sound, their horns perking up in interest.

“Oh no, oh no no no no,” White muttered, shaking their head and squeezing their eyes shut.

“White, is that a _real_ notepad?” Green demanded.

“Y-yeah… that was the task notepad I always carried around when I was alive. Since I haven’t figured out how to conjure objects yet, I thought I might as well use it,” White said, looking at Lime. “I… I just had so many ideas that I just needed to write them down somewhere…”

One of Purple’s many tentacles was slithering around the floor, wrapping around the notepad to pick it up.

“Wait, White,” Black realised. “When you say ideas, you mean...”

“Purple’s going to see my horrible writing,” White moaned in dismay, even as Purple’s pupil grew increasingly smaller increasingly rapidly. “I don’t even know how aliens have sex! That was just my first draft!”

“Oh my _god_ ,” said Lime, equal parts horror and glee dawning on their face. “Hey, wait, that sounds pretty good, actually -”

Purple shredded the notepad to pieces right then and there. Flushing pink, they cast a glare in the ghosts’ general direction before they lifted Cyan’s blanket and seemed to simply _dissolve_ under it.

The ghosts exchanged glances with each other.

“Did we just fluster an alien murderer?” Black asked, staring.

“Maybe we really should back off,” said Green, sheepish.

“Aw, but…”

Green grabbed Lime by the back of their neck. “We. Are. Leaving,” they insisted, pulling the younger ghost along.

“But I… but I…”

As all the ghosts cleared out of the room, peace and silence returned to Cyan’s dorm room once more.

.

_Are you kidding me?_ Purple, who was currently a steaming pile of goo, mused to themself. _First human assassins exist, then that confrontation on that ship happened, and now apparently ghosts are real?_

Well. That was one way to be punished for their sins. It was fine, though. What was written on those pieces of paper that had most certainly appeared out of nowhere was absolutely horrendous - and now lay in tattered ruins. Cyan would never bother with it.

Purple, however, couldn’t help but feel bothered by it, especially given the _vivid_ descriptions one very imaginative ghost had dreamed up. They couldn’t help reviewing them in their mind, thinking about…

 _Wow, okay, stop, this isn’t productive at all,_ Purple scolded themself, burying their head further under their pillow. _You and Cyan are partners, but you’re just starting out, you have to respect that, got it?_

Still… partners. And if Fortegreen had anything to do with it, they’d be working together very closely from now on. The thought of that made Purple want to see Cyan again for some reason, ghosts be damned. 

Throwing the blanket off their body, they took in the sleeping sight of Cyan, who was curled up adorably on their side. Their facial expression was one of peace, and sensing movement, Cyan drew closer to Purple’s side. Their warmth was very much welcome, and Purple felt the ship’s chilly atmosphere dissolve as they let Cyan cling on to their tentacles once again.

Despite themself, Purple felt themself smiling at the cute sight. There probably wasn’t any need to hurry for now if this alone made Purple feel this… satisfied with their life. They could think about all that other stuff sometime in the future, but for now this was enough.

Still, though… as if they’d let Cyan know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this is it, this is the ending for this fic. I think they’ve at least talked about the important stuff and have gotten more comfortable with each other, so my mission in progressing them has been accomplished. I hope. Thank you all for your support and love!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [alien body pillow (cooling edition)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27131806) by [lime (orphan_account)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/lime)




End file.
